SC decision puts banks at risk of adding $25 bn to power sector NPAs

Banks could face a 75 per cent loss ratio on their lending to these stressed companies which are on brink of bankruptcy, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch estimate

A year after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tightened the screws on companies delaying debt payments, the nation’s Supreme Court is poised to begin hearing arguments on whether the regulator’s diktat applies across industries.

Hanging in the balance is the fate of more than $25 billion of loans to power producers. They are among parties contesting the RBI directive that forced lenders to recognise loans as soured if dues are delayed even by a day and to approach bankruptcy courts if a restructuring isn’t agreed to within 180 days. The top court in September halted proceedings against power, sugar